Forestry and Rail Trip

          Cathedral State Park

Cathedral State Park is an old growth forest that has never been logged and has been set aside for future generations. This was done because all the rest of West Virginia has been clear cut at least once. This forest is located at 39.19593 degrees N latitude and 79.32213 degrees W longitude. This forest consists largely of hemlock with some birch trees. The forest floor was covered with leaf litter at 3-4 inches thick with little or no undergrowth. The soil was acidic and tested at a pH of 4.5. This is due to the tannic acid resulting as water leeched the tannins from the fallen leaves. The stream that flowed through the forest was fast flowing and dark in color because of the tannins.

The rhododendron at the left is one of a few species of plants that thrive in an old growth forest. Low plant biodiversity is a common trait and the fern is another plant that thrives in the acidic soil and reduced light of a hemlock forest.  

The birch tree at the right is the only other species of tree in Cathedral State Park and is the only deciduous tree in the forest. The bulge at the center is part of the bark that is shed regularly. This has been used by Native Americans to make baskets and canoes for many years.  

                                                                                                              

Another important role for old growth forests is the habitat for animals provided when the trees die and eventually fall over. The tree at left shows where insects have moved in and the woodpeckers that feed on them have left their marks. 

The pictures above show how old growth forests provide habitat and food for fungi. The decomposers play an important role in the recycling of nutrients as old trees die and fall. You can see the lack of undergrowth and plant biodiversity that are typical of these forests.

The picture at the left is the stump of the largest hemlock tree in the forest after it was struck by lightning. The size of the tree is scaled by the man in the picture. The reason there are so few old growth forests is because of the value of the wood in the tree. A sample calculation of the the value of one tree is shown below.

To get some idea of the value of the lumber in a full grown hemlock tree, a sample tree was selected. The circumference of the tree was 102 inches with a diameter of 32.47 inches. The radius was 16.23 inches with an area of 5.72 square feet. This made for a total of 2967.36 cubic board feet. After accounting for waste and taper, the usable board feet was 741.84. Hemlock is valued at $3.20 per board foot, thus  making one sample tree worth $2,373.89 before the cost of harvesting. The high value of large trees found in an old growth forest and the need for income in West Virginia makes it difficult for landowners to refuse to harvest the trees.